User Reviews

Overall Rating:

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Submitted by
David S.
a Audio Enthusiast

Date Reviewed: September 11, 2014

Bottom Line:

I purchased a used pair of beautiful morado laminated Thiel 3.7 speakers built in the last couple of years. It was used in a home of an Audio Dealer. He took outstanding care of it and it was in almost perfect condition. According to this gentleman Thiel made unannounced changes to the 1st order crossover that gives better low end performance. The low end is tight, deep, and more than adequate for the jazz and symphonic music I listen to. My system has the benefit of a Chang Lightspeed power line conditioner that cleans up the electricity. It greatly enhances the low end, that the lack of, is criticized by some buyers of earlier model 3.7s. I'm using Audioquest balanced XLR King Cobra interconnect cable along with Chang lightspeed and Pangea power cords, that also enhance the low end. The speaker is very efficient with a 90db SPL and is driven with aplomb with my Bryston 4B SST2 500 watt at 4 Ohms 1khz. However your amplifier of choice should be of high current design to power this speaker. A receiver or low powered integrated amplifier won't give good results. My speakers were broken-in and sounded fantastic from day one of my ownership. Thiel speakers are under new management and have moved their production to Nashville from Lexington Kentucky. They left their repair facility in Lexington under the supervision of some of their long term employees. I had no trouble obtaining a pair of outriggers for my 3.7's from them. Overall performance of this speaker for me has been outstanding.

I agree with everything in the first review posted here but would like to add a couple of important points. When I unpacked my CS3.7's fresh from the factory, I was extremely disappointed. I'd owned a pair of 3.6's for 14 years and knew what Thiel speakers were capable of and certainly was familiar with the "house" sound. I was also aware that they needed break in time, but I had no idea just how critical that would be.Out of the box they are shrill, uninvolving and flat.

It wasn't until I put them through 80 hours of brown noise burn in that the speakers reached parity with my old 3.6's. After 150 hours they were doing things I'd never heard a pair of speakers do. Now at 200 hours the shrillness is gone, they are opening up and the soundstage is staggering. After speaking with Gary Dayton at Thiel, i learned that the 3.7's need at least 500 hours before they really come into their own.

Several reviewers have commented on how accurate these speakers are and it's true: you will hear major differences from track to track on some cds; when you check the liner notes it will confirm that those tracks were recorded in different studios or with different producers. That's something lesser speakers will seldom reveal to you.

Finally, the 3.7's have a dynamic range and ability to capture the nuances of music that put other speakers in their price range to shame. These speakers demand and then reward purchase of the highest quality associated gear. Everything in your system makes a difference when listening to these speakers. It's a double edged sword, but for those of us who value "musical truth," it's well worth the price of admission.

I have been a long time Thiel enthusiast, having owned the 3.5s, 3.6s and until recently the Thiel CS7.2s. When the CS3.7s came out, I found it amazing that a relatively small, 3 way speaker could replace the much larger, 4-way CS7.2 in the Thiel product lineup. I knew that the 3.7 incorporated a lot of new advanced driver and cabinet design methodologies that were not in the 7.2, but could the 3.7 actually be a better speaker than the 7.2?

I had owned the 7.2s for about 8 years, and enjoyed every minute with them, but really wanted to get back to a smaller loudspeaker and also one that was more efficient. The 7.2s really require large room to do their best and quality amplification (lots of it). The other problem was weight – they are not fun repack, if you move a lot like I do. So that being the case, I really thought the Cs3.7 may be what I need, but I was worried that it would be a down grade from my 7.2s, especially in the bass. However, back in early December, I was lucky enough to find a buyer for my 7.2s, allowing me to replace them with the 3.7s. So this review is comparing the previous 7.2 to the newest flagship, the 3.7.

In my opinion, the 3.7 is a much better loudspeaker overall, than the 7.2. The biggest improvement is there is much more clarity, focus, transparency and resolution in the midrange and the high frequencies. The high frequencies are also much more extended in the 3.7 than the 7.2 (i.e. much more highly resolved but not bright!). The new tweeter/midrange that is in the 3.7 is vastly superior to the 2 driver midrange and tweeter in the 7.2. Also, the cabinet in the 3.7 is much quieter, allowing a lot more music’s subtleties to come through, because the noise floor is much, much lower in the 3.7. The aluminum baffle, aluminum top cap, and the bowed laminate wood side panels do wonders for the sound versus the 7.2s MDF construction. Because of all these new innovations, there is absolutely no hint, whatsoever that you are listening to dynamic loudspeaker (at least that I can detect). Everything in the 3.7 has a lot more preciseness about it. The leading edges of notes start and stop even faster than the 7.2 and the imaging is better – especially front to back sound staging. In addition, because of the improved efficiency of the 3.7s over the 7.2s, they sound much quicker, more open and dynamic. They tend to be quicker and more startling when going silence to large scale dynamic peaks. It is really great to finally have a Thiel loudspeaker that does not require a solid 400 watt amplifier or better to drive it.

Finally, the one area that the 7.2 is better than the 3.7 is in the bass response. The 3.7 with 10 inch bass drivers and a smaller cabinet will not go as low or play as loudly in the very low bass frequencies, below 30 Hz. The 3.7, however does have extremely good low frequency response and is very well integrated with the rest of the speaker. The 3.7 will just not give you the same bass wallop and low frequency volume that the 7.2 will. However, to get this with 7.2, you need a really strong amplifier and a big room. If you mate the 3.7 with one of Thiel’s smart subs like the SS2, you can reclaim all if not most of what you get with the 7.2 for a lot less required power.

So, in conclusion, I can see why the 3.7 replaced the 7.2; It is a better loudspeaker in all areas other than ultimate bass extension and loudness capability. Besides that, Thiel has designed a really smart new loudspeaker in the 3.7. He has been able to achieve better performance, but a the same time make a much lighter and more efficient flagship speaker. Shedding the heavy MDF construction of previous designs and using more aluminum, laminate wood, and different cabinet geometries has worked wonders for the sound and weight of their new loudspeaker. This is by far the best 2-channel loudspeaker Thiel has ever come out with, and is most likely the most accurate and coherent loudspeaker in the world, bar none. Highly recommended.